Best Acting Performances in Film History (in progress) - Movies & TV

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

Note: Just getting this started before working on it a bit more. Recommendations welcome.

For my criteria, go here: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15503

The selections are based on my criteria, applied to acting. In short, when evaluating a performance, I tend to most strongly consider the following:

(a) How creative/singular is the character (its psychology, traits, expressions, actions, personality characteristics), and how creative/singular is the actor's portrayal? How much does it stand out for its time? All time? Is it so extraordinary as to be inimitable?
(b) How expressively amazing is the performance? To what degree does the performance express the state(s) of mind and/or emotion(s) (whether subtle or obvious, introverted or extroverted) of the character? How much conviction or immersion is being expressed? How compelling, powerful, moving and/or affecting (etc) is the performance?

The higher the ranking, the greater degree its collaboration will tend to be of those factors.

These tend to hold much more weight than the detailed accuracy or precise realism of the performance alone.

Best Acting Performances in Film History (in progress)

Isabelle Adjani - Possession - Andrzej Zulawski (1981)
Laura Dern - Inland Empire - David Lynch (2006)
Orson Welles - Citizen Kane - Orson Welles (1941)
James Stewart - Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
Renee Falconetti - The Passion of Joan of Arc - Carl Theodor Dreyer (1928)
Bette Davis - What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? - Robert Aldrich (1962)
Gloria Swanson - Sunset Boulevard - Billy Wilder (1950)
Bette Davis - Hush... Hush Sweet Charlotte - Robert Aldrich (1965)
Robert DeNiro - Taxi Driver - Martin Scorsese (1976)
Marlon Brando - Last Tango in Paris - Bernardo Bertolucci (1972)
Warren Oates - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - Sam Peckinpah (1974)
Martin Sheen - Badlands - Terrence Malick (1973)
Andy Griffith - A Face in the Crowd - Elia Kazan (1957)
Nicolas Cage - Leaving Las Vegas - Mike Figgis (1995)
Emily Watson - Breaking the Waves - Lars Von Trier (1996)
Gena Rowlands - A Woman Under the Influence - John Cassavetes (1974)
Vivien Leigh - A Streetcar Named Desire - Elia Kazan (1951)
Denis Lavant - Holy Motors - Leos Carax (2012)
Bibi Andersson - Persona - Ingmar Bergman (1966)
Robert DeNiro - Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese (1980)
Malcolm McDowell - A Clockwork Orange - Stanley Kubrick (1971)
Takashi Shimura - Ikiru - Akira Kurosawa (1952)
James Stewart - It's a Wonderful Life - Frank Capra (1946)
Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront - Elia Kazan (1954)
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson (2007)
Klaus Kinski - Aguirre, the Wrath of God - Werner Herzog (1972)
Monica Vitti - L'Avventura - Michelangelo Antonioni (1960)
Gibson Gowland - Greed - Erich Von Stroheim (1924)
Ellen Burstyn - Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - Martin Scorsese (1974)
Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator - Charlie Chaplin (1940)
Mia Farrow - Rosemary's Baby - Roman Polanski (1968)
Marlon Brando - A Streetcar Named Desire - Elia Kazan (1951)
Anthony Perkins - Psycho - Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Synecdoche, New York - Charlie Kaufman (2008)
Gene Hackman - The Conversation - Francis Ford Coppola (1974)
Aleksey Kravchenko - Come and See - Elim Klimov (1985)
Alexander Kaidanovsky - Stalker - Andrei Tarkovsky (1979)
Erland Josephson - The Sacrifice - Andrei Tarkovsky (1986)
Orson Welles - Chimes at Midnight - Orson Welles (1965)
Catherine Deneuve - Belle de Jour - Luis Bunuel (1967)
Lee Marvin - Point Blank - John Boorman (1967)
Catherine Deneuve - Repulsion - Roman Polanski (1965)
Mia Farrow - Secret Ceremony - Joseph Losey (1968)

Potential Additions - Not Ranked/Undecided
Parviz Parastui - The Willow Tree - Majid Majidi (2005)
Charlize Theron - Monster - Patty Jenkins (2003)
Mohsen Ramezani - The Color of Paradise - Majid Majidi (1999)
David Thewlis - Naked - Mike Leigh (1993)
Anthony Hopkins - Silence of the Lambs - Jonathan Demme (1991)
Michael Gambon - The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover - Peter Greenaway (1989)
Daniel Day-Lewis - My Left Foot - Jim Sheridan (1989)
Dennis Hopper - Blue Velvet - David Lynch (1986)
Harry Dean Stanton - Paris, Texas - Wim Wenders (1984)
Robert DeNiro - King of Comedy - Martin Scorsese (1983)
Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Faye Dunaway - Chinatown - Roman Polanski (1974)
Jack Nicholson - Chinatown - Roman Polanski (1974)
Al Pacino - The Godfather, Part 2 - Francis Ford Coppola (1974)
Marlon Brando - The Godfather - Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
Al Pacino - The Godfather - Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
George C. Scott - Patton - Franklin Schaffner (1970)
Jack Nicholson - The Passenger - Michelangelo Antonioni (1968)
Peter Sellers - Dr. Strangelove - Stanley Kubrick (1964)
Kyôko Kishida - Woman in the Dunes - Hiroshi Teshigahara (1964)
Peter O'Toole - Lawrence of Arabia - David Lean (1962)
Natalie Wood - Splendor in the Grass - Elia Kazan (1961)
Orson Welles - Touch of Evil - Orson Welles (1958)
Glenn Ford - The Big Heat - Fritz Lang (1953)
Machiko Kyo - Rashomon - Akira Kurosawa (1950)
Toshiro Mifune - Rashomon - Akira Kurosawa (1950)
Bette Davis - All About Eve - Joseph Mankiewicz (1950)
Humphrey Bogart - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - John Huston (1946)
James Stewart - Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - Frank Capra (1939)
Peter Lorre - M - Fritz Lang (1931)
Brigitte Helm - Metropolis - Fritz Lang (1926)

*Various Katherine Hepburn performances*
*Various Lawrence Olivier performances*
*Various Charlie Chaplin performances*[/b]
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Last edited by AfterHours on 09/06/2018 17:08; edited 28 times in total

badseed

Gender: Male
Age: 35
Location: FL

AfterHours wrote:

Recommendations welcome. MY CRITERIA: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15503
(Note: My criteria is the same -- just applied to acting)

Best Acting Performances in Film History (in progress)

Isabelle Adjani - Possession - Andrzej Zulawski (1981)
Laura Dern - Inland Empire - David Lynch (2006)
Orson Welles - Citizen Kane - Orson Welles (1941)
James Stewart - Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
Renee Falconetti - The Passion of Joan of Arc - Carl Theodor Dreyer (1928)
Denis Lavant - Holy Motors - Leos Carax (2012)
Gloria Swanson - Sunset Boulevard - Billy Wilder (1950)
Bette Davis - Hush... Hush Sweet Charlotte - Robert Aldrich (1965)
Bette Davis - What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? - Robert Aldrich (1962)
Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront - Elia Kazan (1954)
Nicolas Cage - Leaving Las Vegas - Mike Figgis (1995)
Marlon Brando - Last Tango in Paris - Bernardo Bertolucci (1972)
Robert DeNiro - Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese (1980)
Emily Watson - Breaking the Waves - Lars Von Trier (1996)
Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator - Charlie Chaplin (1940)
James Stewart - It's a Wonderful Life - Frank Capra (1946)
Gena Rowlands - A Woman Under the Influence - John Cassavetes (1974)
Bibi Andersson - Persona - Ingmar Bergman (1966)
Anthony Perkins - Psycho - Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Synecdoche, New York - Charlie Kaufman (2008)
Robert DeNiro - Taxi Driver - Martin Scorsese (1976)
Klaus Kinski - Aguirre, the Wrath of God - Werner Herzog (1972)
Lee Marvin - Point Blank - John Boorman (1967)
Mia Farrow - Rosemary's Baby - Roman Polanski (1968)
Warren Oates - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - Sam Peckinpah (1974)
Gene Hackman - The Conversation - Francis Ford Coppola (1974)
Alexander Kaidanovsky - Stalker - Andrei Tarkovsky (1979)
Erland Josephson - The Sacrifice - Andrei Tarkovsky (1986)
Catherine Deneuve - Belle de Jour - Luis Bunuel (1967)
Catherine Deneuve - Repulsion - Roman Polanski (1965)

Interesting. Don't know where to start on recommendations as there's some obvious stuff missing (IE Peter O'Toole or Daniel Day-Lewis among others) that you likely left out on purpose for your own reasons. But everything here is definitely ace. Love seeing how highly you rate the Adjani and Watson performances in particular as they generally don't get enough love.

Just from a horror buff's perspective, since you've got a few here, I think at least Boris Karloff (Bride of Frankenstein) and Joe Spinell (Maniac) deserve mentioning.

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

badseed wrote:

AfterHours wrote:

Recommendations welcome. MY CRITERIA: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15503
(Note: My criteria is the same -- just applied to acting)

Best Acting Performances in Film History (in progress)

Isabelle Adjani - Possession - Andrzej Zulawski (1981)
Laura Dern - Inland Empire - David Lynch (2006)
Orson Welles - Citizen Kane - Orson Welles (1941)
James Stewart - Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
Renee Falconetti - The Passion of Joan of Arc - Carl Theodor Dreyer (1928)
Denis Lavant - Holy Motors - Leos Carax (2012)
Gloria Swanson - Sunset Boulevard - Billy Wilder (1950)
Bette Davis - Hush... Hush Sweet Charlotte - Robert Aldrich (1965)
Bette Davis - What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? - Robert Aldrich (1962)
Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront - Elia Kazan (1954)
Nicolas Cage - Leaving Las Vegas - Mike Figgis (1995)
Marlon Brando - Last Tango in Paris - Bernardo Bertolucci (1972)
Robert DeNiro - Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese (1980)
Emily Watson - Breaking the Waves - Lars Von Trier (1996)
Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator - Charlie Chaplin (1940)
James Stewart - It's a Wonderful Life - Frank Capra (1946)
Gena Rowlands - A Woman Under the Influence - John Cassavetes (1974)
Bibi Andersson - Persona - Ingmar Bergman (1966)
Anthony Perkins - Psycho - Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Synecdoche, New York - Charlie Kaufman (2008)
Robert DeNiro - Taxi Driver - Martin Scorsese (1976)
Klaus Kinski - Aguirre, the Wrath of God - Werner Herzog (1972)
Lee Marvin - Point Blank - John Boorman (1967)
Mia Farrow - Rosemary's Baby - Roman Polanski (1968)
Warren Oates - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - Sam Peckinpah (1974)
Gene Hackman - The Conversation - Francis Ford Coppola (1974)
Alexander Kaidanovsky - Stalker - Andrei Tarkovsky (1979)
Erland Josephson - The Sacrifice - Andrei Tarkovsky (1986)
Catherine Deneuve - Belle de Jour - Luis Bunuel (1967)
Catherine Deneuve - Repulsion - Roman Polanski (1965)

Interesting. Don't know where to start on recommendations as there's some obvious stuff missing (IE Peter O'Toole or Daniel Day-Lewis among others) that you likely left out on purpose for your own reasons. But everything here is definitely ace. Love seeing how highly you rate the Adjani and Watson performances in particular as they generally don't get enough love.

Just from a horror buff's perspective, since you've got a few here, I think at least Boris Karloff (Bride of Frankenstein) and Joe Spinell (Maniac) deserve mentioning.

Thanks, I am definitely still updating these so there are bound to be key omissions, especially early on. Day Lewis may be the greatest actor of this generation so I'm sure Ill add one or more of his. I am undecided on O'Toole's Lawrence of Arabia performance. No doubt it is excellent but Ill need to revisit the film to see whether I feel it is among the very best. I've long felt the film, while good, was a bit overrated -- but I also havent seen it in 10+ years so maybe my mind will change?
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badseed

Gender: Male
Age: 35
Location: FL

AfterHours wrote:

badseed wrote:

AfterHours wrote:

Recommendations welcome. MY CRITERIA: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15503
(Note: My criteria is the same -- just applied to acting)

Best Acting Performances in Film History (in progress)

Isabelle Adjani - Possession - Andrzej Zulawski (1981)
Laura Dern - Inland Empire - David Lynch (2006)
Orson Welles - Citizen Kane - Orson Welles (1941)
James Stewart - Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
Renee Falconetti - The Passion of Joan of Arc - Carl Theodor Dreyer (1928)
Denis Lavant - Holy Motors - Leos Carax (2012)
Gloria Swanson - Sunset Boulevard - Billy Wilder (1950)
Bette Davis - Hush... Hush Sweet Charlotte - Robert Aldrich (1965)
Bette Davis - What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? - Robert Aldrich (1962)
Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront - Elia Kazan (1954)
Nicolas Cage - Leaving Las Vegas - Mike Figgis (1995)
Marlon Brando - Last Tango in Paris - Bernardo Bertolucci (1972)
Robert DeNiro - Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese (1980)
Emily Watson - Breaking the Waves - Lars Von Trier (1996)
Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator - Charlie Chaplin (1940)
James Stewart - It's a Wonderful Life - Frank Capra (1946)
Gena Rowlands - A Woman Under the Influence - John Cassavetes (1974)
Bibi Andersson - Persona - Ingmar Bergman (1966)
Anthony Perkins - Psycho - Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Synecdoche, New York - Charlie Kaufman (2008)
Robert DeNiro - Taxi Driver - Martin Scorsese (1976)
Klaus Kinski - Aguirre, the Wrath of God - Werner Herzog (1972)
Lee Marvin - Point Blank - John Boorman (1967)
Mia Farrow - Rosemary's Baby - Roman Polanski (1968)
Warren Oates - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - Sam Peckinpah (1974)
Gene Hackman - The Conversation - Francis Ford Coppola (1974)
Alexander Kaidanovsky - Stalker - Andrei Tarkovsky (1979)
Erland Josephson - The Sacrifice - Andrei Tarkovsky (1986)
Catherine Deneuve - Belle de Jour - Luis Bunuel (1967)
Catherine Deneuve - Repulsion - Roman Polanski (1965)

Interesting. Don't know where to start on recommendations as there's some obvious stuff missing (IE Peter O'Toole or Daniel Day-Lewis among others) that you likely left out on purpose for your own reasons. But everything here is definitely ace. Love seeing how highly you rate the Adjani and Watson performances in particular as they generally don't get enough love.

Just from a horror buff's perspective, since you've got a few here, I think at least Boris Karloff (Bride of Frankenstein) and Joe Spinell (Maniac) deserve mentioning.

Thanks, I am definitely still updating these so there are bound to be key omissions, especially early on. Day Lewis may be the greatest actor of this generation so I'm sure Ill add one or more of his. I am undecided on O'Toole's Lawrence of Arabia performance. No doubt it is excellent but Ill need to revisit the film to see whether I feel it is among the very best. I've long felt the film, while good, was a bit overrated -- but I also havent seen it in 10+ years so maybe my mind will change?

I'll admit that while it is one of the most technically brilliant epics ever made, Lawrence can be a bit of a bore if not in the right mood. But O'Toole is perfect in every way. He was also so good in many other films, but it's Lawrence that makes him an no brainer to make anyone's top ten British actors list.

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

badseed wrote:

AfterHours wrote:

badseed wrote:

AfterHours wrote:

Recommendations welcome. MY CRITERIA: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15503
(Note: My criteria is the same -- just applied to acting)

Best Acting Performances in Film History (in progress)

Isabelle Adjani - Possession - Andrzej Zulawski (1981)
Laura Dern - Inland Empire - David Lynch (2006)
Orson Welles - Citizen Kane - Orson Welles (1941)
James Stewart - Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
Renee Falconetti - The Passion of Joan of Arc - Carl Theodor Dreyer (1928)
Denis Lavant - Holy Motors - Leos Carax (2012)
Gloria Swanson - Sunset Boulevard - Billy Wilder (1950)
Bette Davis - Hush... Hush Sweet Charlotte - Robert Aldrich (1965)
Bette Davis - What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? - Robert Aldrich (1962)
Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront - Elia Kazan (1954)
Nicolas Cage - Leaving Las Vegas - Mike Figgis (1995)
Marlon Brando - Last Tango in Paris - Bernardo Bertolucci (1972)
Robert DeNiro - Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese (1980)
Emily Watson - Breaking the Waves - Lars Von Trier (1996)
Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator - Charlie Chaplin (1940)
James Stewart - It's a Wonderful Life - Frank Capra (1946)
Gena Rowlands - A Woman Under the Influence - John Cassavetes (1974)
Bibi Andersson - Persona - Ingmar Bergman (1966)
Anthony Perkins - Psycho - Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Synecdoche, New York - Charlie Kaufman (2008)
Robert DeNiro - Taxi Driver - Martin Scorsese (1976)
Klaus Kinski - Aguirre, the Wrath of God - Werner Herzog (1972)
Lee Marvin - Point Blank - John Boorman (1967)
Mia Farrow - Rosemary's Baby - Roman Polanski (1968)
Warren Oates - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - Sam Peckinpah (1974)
Gene Hackman - The Conversation - Francis Ford Coppola (1974)
Alexander Kaidanovsky - Stalker - Andrei Tarkovsky (1979)
Erland Josephson - The Sacrifice - Andrei Tarkovsky (1986)
Catherine Deneuve - Belle de Jour - Luis Bunuel (1967)
Catherine Deneuve - Repulsion - Roman Polanski (1965)

Interesting. Don't know where to start on recommendations as there's some obvious stuff missing (IE Peter O'Toole or Daniel Day-Lewis among others) that you likely left out on purpose for your own reasons. But everything here is definitely ace. Love seeing how highly you rate the Adjani and Watson performances in particular as they generally don't get enough love.

Just from a horror buff's perspective, since you've got a few here, I think at least Boris Karloff (Bride of Frankenstein) and Joe Spinell (Maniac) deserve mentioning.

Thanks, I am definitely still updating these so there are bound to be key omissions, especially early on. Day Lewis may be the greatest actor of this generation so I'm sure Ill add one or more of his. I am undecided on O'Toole's Lawrence of Arabia performance. No doubt it is excellent but Ill need to revisit the film to see whether I feel it is among the very best. I've long felt the film, while good, was a bit overrated -- but I also havent seen it in 10+ years so maybe my mind will change?

I'll admit that while it is one of the most technically brilliant epics ever made, Lawrence can be a bit of a bore if not in the right mood. But O'Toole is perfect in every way. He was also so good in many other films, but it's Lawrence that makes him an no brainer to make anyone's top ten British actors list.

Thank you, I do plan to revisit it (7/10 for me upon last viewing, 10 or so years ago). 7/10 is still very good/superb (or similar adjectives) so, by "overrated" I only meant (imo) in relation to ratings/rankings showing it as one of the very greatest films of all time ... but again, it needs a revisit so maybe I'll change my mind next time
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bobbyb5

Gender: Male
Location: New York

I liked reading this list. It made me think about a lot of performances I haven't seen in years. The only ones I really take exception with are Bette Davis in Hush Hush sweet Charlotte, although not Baby Jane, and the awful Gena Rowlands. She is just beyond the pale at all times.

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

bobbyb5 wrote:

I liked reading this list. It made me think about a lot of performances I haven't seen in years. The only ones I really take exception with are Bette Davis in Hush Hush sweet Charlotte, although not Baby Jane, and the awful Gena Rowlands. She is just beyond the pale at all times.

Yes, Davis is completely off her f-ing rocker in Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte. It is hard to find another performance the makes such extreme jumps from serious drama to black comedy and then also fuses them in ambiguity for many of its later scenes...

I agree with Rowlands being "beyond the pale", but it is among the greatest such performances in my estimation -- a total immersion in the character and an expressive tour de force.
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bobbyb5

Gender: Male
Location: New York

AfterHours wrote:

Yes, Davis is completely off her f-ing rocker in Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte. It is hard to find another performance the makes such extreme jumps from serious drama to black comedy and then also fuses them in ambiguity for many of its later scenes...

I agree with Rowlands being "beyond the pale", but it is among the greatest such performances in my estimation -- a total immersion in the character and an expressive tour de force.

Gena Rowlands always looks like she's thinking "I wish they had given me some dialogue to recite or something. I'm tired of having nothing to do besides walk back and forth and try to look upset."

badseed

Gender: Male
Age: 35
Location: FL

AfterHours wrote:

Andy Griffith - A Face in the Crowd - Elia Kazan (1957)

Love this addition. As someone whose household regularly played The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock on TV during my childhood, I always thought of Griffith like most TV icons of the time period; not quite talented enough to make it as a major movie star. Not to say that I didn't like/respect him, but by the time WB released their Controversial Classics box set in 2005, Griffith's influence on my life had subsided. The fact that he starred in a "controversial" film was strange so I couldn't resist watching it first and man, it blew me away. What a damn fine performance. I'm still not sure if Griffith would have excelled as a movie star because I feel he likely still had many limitations, but this film hid them and was a perfect showcase of what he was capable of doing well.

hereforashortime

Gender: Male

Thoughts on the following performances?
George C Scott in Patton
Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove
Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Diane Keaton in Annie Hall

They would definitely make my own list of Best Performances.
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